Host Nation Update, May 4, 2023
Sindelfingen becomes the Mecca of runners and strollers
City Marketing in Sindelfingen is organizing an open Sunday as part of the WerkStadt run. On May 7, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., approximately 40 participating stores, including the Stern Center, will offer promotions and attractions to visitors in the city center. City Marketing will also give away 1000 city vouchers of ten euros each at the wheel of fortune on the market square, which can be redeemed on the open Sunday itself. Numerous play stations for all ages will be set up on Grüner Platz from 1 p.m. and on Planiestraße and Untere Vorstadt from 3:30 p.m. respectively. On Sunday, parking fees in the Marktplatz underground car park and the Stern Center will be waived.
Running enthusiasts can also participate in the 10.6-kilometer Plant City Run and the 5.8-kilometer Mercedes-Benz Run on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m. at Gate 3 of the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant. Additionally, “Bambini” can join the track over a 500-meter course, starting at 1:30 p.m. from the market square, while schoolchildren in various age groups can compete in a 1-kilometer race, starting at 2 p.m. from the market square.
More information and the starting times of the individual runs can be found on the Internet at https://www.eventservice-stal.de/veranstaltungen/werkstadtlauf/.
More and more girls are drawn to the fire department
In the southwest region of Germany, the number of girls interested in joining the youth fire department has been steadily increasing. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the proportion of girls in the youth fire departments has risen from 14.6 percent a decade ago to 23.2 percent in 2022. This increase is significant, as there were 8,315 girls out of a total of 35,780 youth fire department members last year. Over the past five years, the number of girls and boys in the youth fire departments has increased by 13.5 percent, with a 47.2 percent growth in the proportion of women. The Interior Minister, Thomas Strobl, expressed his satisfaction with this development, especially given the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the attacks on rescue and emergency forces. The state provides a lump-sum subsidy of 40 euros for each member of youth fire departments.
Autobahn project in Baden-Württemberg – Federal government to set pace for “Albaufstieg” on A8
The state of Baden-Württemberg has called on the federal government to push ahead with the expansion of the Albaufstieg on Autobahn A8 decisively and preferentially. The stretch between Mühlhausen and Hohenstadt is the most urgent Autobahn project in Baden-Württemberg, according to state Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens) on Tuesday. At the same time, Interior Minister Thomas Strobl had criticized that the Albaufstieg did not even appear in the acceleration list for faster highway expansion of the Berlin traffic light coalition. Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) wants to speed up highway expansion. His ministry has drawn up a list of highway projects that are to be tackled more quickly. The federal states were to provide feedback on this by last Friday. In addition to Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia did not comply on time.The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport has announced that the state expressly approves the federal plans for accelerated expansion of the A5 and A6 autobahns. The aim is to prevent traffic jams and congestion in the surrounding areas. However, the state government does not support plans to expand the A8 from six to eight lanes between Stuttgart and Wendlingen. Instead, the state has asked the federal government for permission to continue to open up the emergency lanes for temporary use when traffic volumes are high. This would improve the flow of traffic without taking up additional space. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, May 3)
